Hypocrisy of Shaheen Bagh [B.10]
HELLO EVERYONE
We all remember the incident of Shaheen bagh, for some it was totally democratic and for some, it was against the constitution. Before giving any opinion from my side we will understand how did shaheen bagh start? It was a peaceful protest led by women (mostly Muslim women) and went on for more than 100 days. It was initially against CAA and the police Intervention at Jamia University. It was organized on the main running road which used to join Noida and Faridabad. It is a place that is home to millions of people. I will discuss everything that you need to know about shaheen but before that, we have to understand what does the constitution of India says about "RIGHT TO PROTEST" and permissions required.
1. The right to protest peacefully is enshrined in the Indian Constitution-Article 19(1)(a). It guarantees the citizen of India "the freedom of speech and expression". Along with this Article 19(1)(b) assures citizens the right to assemble peacefully and without arms.
2. On the other hand, "Law and order is a subject to state. So permissions to organize protests will vary from state to state. But in general, you are required to have the following permissions
Ensure that you have a police permit and NOC (No objection certificate). In case the police feel that protest rally or demonstration may lead against social disorder, permissions can be denied.
You are required to submit a petition to the police which will require details of the protest.
Reason for the protest, Date, Duration, Number of people expected, and the route of the protest should be defined in the petition.
Also, remember to include your name and address
The documents that must be furnished include proof of identity, proof of residence, a photograph, and an affidavit. So these are the things which are required before organizing any kind of protest "IF YOU WANT TO DO A PROTEST ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA."
Now going through the points stated above, Do you think that the SHAHEEN BAGH protest was Legal.? let's analyze. Though being a peaceful protest, it was not a legal protest. Because "Duration, Number of people expected and the route of the protest should be defined in the petition." and the protest at shaheen bagh did not have a specific duration, the number of protestors was not specified. Moreover, the route they choose for the protest was at one of the borders of Dehli. This was completely blocked by the protestors. All the traffic was diverted to different border points and the following were the effects of this diversion.
There were continuous traffic jams on the other alternative routes.
Shops and showrooms were closed for more than 100 days. Who will be responsible for their financial loss?
Wastage of fuel and the increase in pollution was clearly noted.
Board exams were postponed
Due to the heavy jams on the alternative roads, Essential road services like ambulance, Firebrigade were directly affected, Office and school goers faced a lot of inconveniences.
This resulted in the filing of a petition in the supreme court
The court said that people have a fundamental right to protest against the law but the blocking of public roads is a matter of concern and there has to be a balancing factor.
Hearing pleas over the roadblocks due to the ongoing protests at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said its concern is about what will happen if people start. protesting on roads.
Democracy works on expressing views but there are lines and boundaries for it, the bench said.
It asked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran to talk to Shaheen Bagh protestors and persuade them to move to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.
Despite the statement given by the court, the road was blocked as it is and the local shaheen bagh market was closed for around 100 days. Now let's discuss the different angles of Shaheen Bagh.
This level of organized protest requires a large number of funds. As stated above there was no single organizer of this protest. So, there has to be a group of people or an organization that was responsible for the funding. Now, who is responsible for the funding? This is yet to be answered
If there was no sole organizer of this protest. So whose Identity, Proof of residence, photograph, and affidavit were submitted in the petition?
Need for small children in protest: Do you think the presence of children in such an environment or their exposure to such situations was necessary? Do you think they understand the purpose of these protests?
Slogans of "Jinnah Waali Azadi": Just give me one good reason to use the name of Jinnah in a protest going on India.
Sharjeel Imam, a JNU student was caught red-handed, Raising a slogan "Assam should be cut off from India". He was one of the key participants in the protest until the Delhi police arrested him, and the list goes on. There have been so many instances where it was found that the shaheen bagh protest was something more than just a protest against CAA and the irony is there was a slogan used which says that "we are here to save the constitution".
This protest was something that tested the patience of our Government. (not only the central government but the state govt too.) This protest not only increased social issues but economic issues too. Protestors should organize their activities in such a way that their voices should be heard publicly so that it can influence the government's policy but in such a way that it may not create a barrier for others.
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THANK YOU FOR READING
JAI HIND
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